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Meet Gary, the latest fuzz-overdrive beast in town from EarthQuaker Devices in partnership with IDLES guitarist Lee Kiernan
“With proper playing dynamics, this creates a very cool effect that can sound like an exploding amp coming in and out of life, blown through a phase shifter,” says EQD.
Image: EarthQuaker Devices
EarthQuaker Devices has teamed up with IDLES guitarist Lee Kiernan to launch a new fuzz-overdrive pedal named Gary.
More accurately, it’s an “Automatic Pulse Width Modulation Fuzz and Dynamic Natural Overdrive” (phew), that EQD touts as being capable of “smooth to shredded and everything in between”.
According to developers, Gary began as a simple request from Kiernan: to create a compact version of the now-discontinued Gray Channel, which had been a staple on his pedalboard.
The result is a versatile device that features a dynamic and destructive pulse width modulated fuzz paired with a natural-sounding op-amp overdrive. On the left side, you get a classic op-amp overdrive that’s based on the Gray Channel’s green setting.
“Lee used this pedal with the clipping switch permanently set to the middle position, which removes all the diodes from the circuit, producing a full-bodied, cutting op-amp distortion with plenty of volume on tap. We have reproduced that tone here with exacting precision,” says EQD.
The other half of Gary, meanwhile, features a dynamic fuzz that interacts with your playing. This fuzz turns your guitar’s signal into a square wave, and the ‘Yes!’ knobs controls the sensitivity of the envelope: When Yes! is all the way down, you’ll get an unadulterated thick and heavy square wave fuzz tone that will “sustain for days and go dead quiet when you stop playing”.
As you turn the Yes! dial up, the envelope becomes more interactive, allowing your playing dynamics to shape the tone. As you dig in with your pick, the sound develops a “nasal and biting” character. When you turn it all the way up, the sound can intermittently vanish and reemerge, creating an effect that the brand describes as “an exploding amp coming in and out of life, blown through a phase shifter.”
Each effect also features its own dedicated footswitch, allowing for easy toggling between them. There’s also an expression pedal input that enables you to control the pulse width for even greater tonal flexibility.
Priced at $199, Gary is now up for sale at EarthQuaker Devices dealers worldwide. A special limited edition of Gary in a red brown enclosure will also be released, though it is limited to 500 units and is only available from the EarthQuaker Devices Reverb shop.
Learn more at EarthQuaker Devices.